Kniphofia plant named ‘Rocket&#39;s Red Glare’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Red Hot Poker plant named  Kniphofia  ‘Rocket&#39;s Red Glare’ with long, mostly upright, strap-like, keeled, glaucous, gray-green foliage and numerous scapes beginning in late spring and continuing for up to fourteen weeks. The new plant resists lodging and the habit is densely growing, winter-hardy, tolerant of heat, deer and rabbits. Numerous scapes of vivid red flower buds on tall scapes maturing to pale yellow flowers. The new plant is useful for landscaping as a specimen, en masse, or as a long-lasting cut flower.

Botanical classification: Kniphofia hybrida.

Variety denomination: ‘Rocket's Red Glare’.

BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF THE PLANT

The present invention relates to the new and distinct Red Hot Poker,Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ hybridized under the direction of theinventor at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA onAugust 14 and seed harvested in the fall of 2012. The new plant was asingle seedling selection resulting from a cross of ‘Echo Rojo’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 22,791 as the female parent or seed parent and ‘PapayaPopsicle’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,915 as the male parent or pollenparent. The plant passed initial evaluation in the summer of 2014 andwas subsequently given the breeder code 12-5-9 prior to naming.Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ has been successfully asexuallypropagated by division method since 2014 at the same wholesale perennialnursery in Zeeland, Mich. and subsequently by shoot tip tissue culture,and both methods have been found to be stable and produce identicalplants that maintain the unique characteristics of the original plantthrough multiple generations.

No plants of Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ have been sold, in thiscountry or anywhere in the world, with this name or any other name,prior to the filing of this application, nor has any disclosure of thenew plant been made prior to the filing of this application except thatwhich was disclosed within one year of the filing of this applicationand was either derived directly or indirectly from the inventor.

SUMMARY OF THE PLANT

Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ differs from its parents as well as allother Kniphofia known to the applicant. The most similar known Kniphofiacultivars are: the female parent ‘Echo Rojo’, ‘Redhot Popsicle’ U.S.Plant Pat. No. 24,036, the male parent ‘Papaya Popsicle’, ‘Fire Glow’U.S. Plant Pat. No. 22,894, ‘Orange Vanilla Popsicle’ U.S. Plant Pat.No. 24,292 and ‘TNKNIPR’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,446. ‘Echo Rojo’ isslightly taller in scape height and buds are more orangish and not asdeeply colored and the new plant has more flowers per scape. ‘RedhotPopsicle’ is much shorter in scape and foliage height with fewer flowersper scape that in bud are less intense and more orangish coloration.‘Papaya Popsicle’ is significantly shorter in scape and foliage heightwith slightly more orangish flower bud color. ‘Fire Glow’ is muchsmaller in scape height, foliage height and overall habit and has aslightly more orangish flower bud color with less red hue. ‘OrangeVanilla Popsicle’ is much shorter in flower scape and foliage height andthe flower bud color is a more reddish hue. ‘TNKNIPR’ is much shorter inscape height, similar in flower bud color, but the open flower colordoes not lighten as much as the new plant. ‘Jackpot’ U.S. Plant patentapplication Ser. No. 15/932,742 has slightly taller scapes with moreorangish buds, longer season of bloom, and flowers that open to abrighter yellow.

Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ differs from these above cultivars andall cultivars known to the inventor in that it has:

-   -   1. Mostly upright, strap-like, keeled, gray-green foliage that        resist lodging.    -   2. Moderately growing, dense habit, winter-hardy, heat tolerant,        rabbit and deer tolerant, large-sized clumps.    -   3. Numerous scapes of vivid red flower buds lightening to pale        yellow flowers on tall stems in maturity;    -   4. Flowering beginning the late spring and continuing for up to        fourteen weeks in Michigan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of Kniphofia ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ demonstrate theoverall appearance of the plant, including the unique traits. The colorsare as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Ambientlight spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minorvariation in color.

FIG. 1 shows the side-view habit of a five-year-old plant in midseasonflowering.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flowers and buds.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references are based on the 2015edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except wherecommon dictionary terms are used. The new plant, Kniphofia ‘Rocket's RedGlare’, has not been observed under all possible environments. Thephenotype may vary slightly with different environmental conditions,such as temperature, light, fertility, moisture and maturity levels, butwithout any change in the genotype. The following observations and sizedescriptions are of a five-year-old plant in a trial garden of awholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. under full sun withsupplemental water and fertilizer as needed.

-   Botanical classification: Kniphofia hybrid;-   Parentage: Kniphofia ‘Echo Rojo’ as the female or seed parent and    ‘Papaya Popsicle’ as the male or pollen parent;-   Propagation method: By garden division of the crown and shoot tip    tissue culture;-   Growth rate: Vigorous, flowering in 3.5 liter containers in about 10    to 12 weeks from a 25 mm plug liner in late winter to spring and    from a one-year-old bare root plant to flowering in 6 to 8 weeks in    a 4.0 liter container;-   Rooting habit: Fibrous from base of crown, lightly branching; color    nearest RHS 158C;-   Plant description: Dense, rhizomatous, acaulescent, perennial clump    with long thin foliage to about 100.0 cm across and about 75.0 cm    tall; flowering to about 90.0 cm tall; about 62 peduncles per plant;-   Leaves: Linear; keeled at base, triangular in distal half; arranged    about 8 leaves per basal division; apex narrowly acute; base    truncate, clasping; margin entire, micro-dentate to fibrillate;    abaxial midrib micro-dentate; no fragrance observed;-   Leaf size: To about 76.5 cm long and 15.0 mm across at base, average    about 52.0 cm long and 13.0 mm across at base;-   Leaf color: Young base nearest RHS 155B both abaxial and adaxial,    distally nearest RHS 137C both abaxial and adaxial; mature adaxial    nearest RHS 146B and abaxial nearest RHS 137C;-   Leaf venation: Parallel; color same as leaf abaxial and adaxial;-   Stem: Acaulescent; crown about 19.0 mm across at base;-   Inflorescence: In spike-like raceme; terete; to about 185 flowers    per stem, average about 160 flowers per stem; flowering portion to    about 30.0 cm tall and about 6.0 cm across; lasting about three    weeks; flower spacing less than 1.0 mm apart on raceme in distal    region and about 2.5 cm in lowest flowers;-   Peduncle: Cylindrical; solid not fistulose; glabrous; glaucous;    erect to about 90.0 cm long and 8.0 mm diameter; average 85.0 cm    tall and 7.5 mm diameter;-   Peduncle color: Blend between RHS N144A and RHS 146D;-   Buds one day prior to opening: Obellipsoidal with swollen subacute    apex and rounded base; glabrous; slightly lustrous; about 18.0 mm    long and about 3.0 mm diameter at base and 5.0 mm diameter at widest    point near apex;-   Bud attitude: Beginning outwardly and drooping as maturing toward    anthesis;-   Bud color: Abaxial distally nearest RHS 44A with veins nearest RHS    45A; proximally and underside base nearest 167B;-   Flowers: Cylindrical forming tubular corolla; perfect;    actinomorphic; individually open and effective about three to four    days; about 21.0 mm long with exserted style and stamens and 6.0 mm    across at face and 3.5 mm diameter near base;-   Corolla size: To about 18.0 mm long, fused in basal about 17.0 mm;    face to about 6.0 mm tall and about 6.0 mm wide; tube about 3.5 mm    diameter near base and about 3.0 mm near fusion;-   Flower attitude: Drooping;-   Flower fragrance: None detected;-   Flowering period: Individual racemes effective for about 3 weeks;    beginning late spring in Michigan for about seven weeks;-   Tepals: Six, in two sets of three; both sets identical with subacute    apices and fused in basal 17.0 mm forming tube; margin entire;    glabrous and lustrous abaxial and adaxial; about 18.0 mm long and    about 3.0 mm across just above fusion point;-   Tepal color (young abaxial): Nearest RHS 34A, with midrib nearest    RHS 43A; (young adaxial): nearest RHS 37A with slight blushing    midribs nearest RHS 39A;-   Tepal color (mature abaxial): Nearest RHS 18C, with slight blushing    of RHS 34B and dorsal veins RHS 34B; (mature adaxial): nearest RHS    18C with veins and slight blushing of nearest RHS N34B, midribs    variable nearest RHS 160A and N167D;-   Androecium: Six; variable lengths; exserted;    -   -   Filaments.—Six; exserted; cylindrical; glabrous; lustrous;            variable lengths from about 16.0 to 21.0 mm long and about            0.5 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 2B.        -   Anther.—Ellipsoidal; dorsifixed; longitudinal; about 1.0 mm            long and 0.7 mm diameter and 1.0 mm thick; color nearest RHS            17A.        -   Pollen.—Abundant: color nearest RHS 11A.-   Gynoecium: Single; about 21.0 mm long;    -   -   Style.—Cylindrical; glabrous; lustrous; about 18.0 mm long            and 0.7 mm diameter: color at anthesis nearest blend between            RHS 168C and RHS 168D, at maturity nearest RHS 2C.        -   Stigma.—Flattened, round; puberulent; about 0.3 mm across;            color nearest RHS 18D.        -   Ovary.—Superior; globose; rounded apex, truncate base; about            2.5 mm long and 2.0 mm diameter; color nearest RHS 146C.-   Pedicel: Cylindrical; glabrous; stiff; drooping; about 1.5 mm long    and about 1.0 mm diameter;-   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS 173A;-   Bracts: Ovoid; papery; translucent; at cauline nodes and subtending    individual flowers; with acute apices and truncate base; to about    5.0 mm long and 2.5 mm across at middle; decreasing distally;    average about 4.0 mm long and 2.0 mm across; color blushed with    nearest RHS 161D;-   Fruit: Tri-valved loculicidal capsule; ellipsoidal; about 7.5 mm    long and 4.5 mm across; glabrous; with acute apex and rounded base;    typically nine to twelve seeded; color upon maturity nearest RHS    200A;-   Seed: Irregular with angular sides, acute apex and base; about 4.0    mm and 3.0 mm across; color nearest RHS 200A;-   Disease and pest resistance: ‘Rocket's Red Glare’ is resistance to    lodging but further resistance beyond that of other Kniphofia has    not been observed. The plant grows best with good drainage and is    able to tolerate some heat when established. Hardiness at least from    USDA zone 6 through 9.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of Kniphofia plant named‘Rocket's Red Glare’ as herein described and illustrated.